B. Riley Raises Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) Price Target to $56.00

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) had its target price lifted by research analysts at B. Riley from $52.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. B. Riley’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.93% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on KLIC. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLIC traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.03. The stock had a trading volume of 151,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,721. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 50.64 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.03 and its 200 day moving average is $51.15. Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a 12 month low of $40.20 and a 12 month high of $60.20.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $202.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.17 million. Kulicke and Soffa Industries had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 7.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Kulicke and Soffa Industries will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Kulicke and Soffa Industries news, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 4,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total transaction of $199,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $958,487.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Fusen Ernie Chen sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,094,380 shares in the company, valued at $51,556,241.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nestor Chylak sold 4,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total value of $199,625.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,609 shares in the company, valued at $958,487.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KLIC. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 8.0% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,941 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 4.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Kulicke and Soffa Industries by 3.9% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.49% of the company’s stock.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Company Profile

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through two segments, Capital Equipment, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company manufactures and sells advanced displays; die-transfer, flip-chip, and TCB advanced packaging products; ball bonder, die-attach, electronics assembly, lithography, wafer-level bonder, and wedge bonder products; consumables, such as capillaries, dicing blades, and wedge bonds; and auto offline programming, KNet PLUS, and new product introduction/manufacturing execution system software products.